CRM Module 1

Module 1:
CRM- Overview & Essential

Understanding
•Generic Business Models: B2B, B2C
•Understanding the 3 terms: Customer, Relationship, Management
•CRM: Perceptions; What it actually means
•Why CRM is so important today, as a discipline/ practice
•CRM Evolution & Growth since the 90s
•CRM & Database Marketing- A Strong Link
•Some definitions of Strategic CRM
•Key CRM related concepts: CLTV, CLC Management, Customisation,
Personalisation, Customer Touchpoints
•Strategic CRM Levels: Operational, Collaborative, Analytical
•The 4 Components of Strategic CRM
•Business Benefits from CRM
Presentation content & material developed for exclusive use by V. Mohan. All rights reserved. No unauthorised copying or usage permitted. 1
Generic Business Models
Depending on the nature of products/ services & how they’re reached
to Consumers, a number of Business Models / Scenarios exist:
B B B B B B
C-IF C-BE C-SCP CIF C-BE CBE C-SCP CIF C-BE C-SCP
B: Business C-IF: Consumer- Individual/ Family

C-BE: Consumer- Business Entity C-SCP: Customer- Supply Chain Partner
In general, any Firm operates in B2B, B2C or a

combination of these two business modes
The 3 Terms in CRM
CRM = Customer Relationship Management
• Customer:
Person/ Business using or dealing with the products/ or
services offered by an Organisation. The customer who’s the
end user is the Consumer.
• Relationship:
A working together to achieve shared goals in an open and
trusting manner, for mutual long-term benefit.
• Management:
Organization and utilization of resources to achieve
defined targets/ goals.
CRM: Perceptions; What it Really Is
CRM is often perceived as use of Technology (ICT) by a firm, to significantly
improve customer related activities/ functions:
• Integrated Software Solution for better Customer-related processes
• Contact Centre / Call Centre; Customer Self-Service.
• Relationship Marketing / Database Marketing / Telemarketing
• Efficient Post-Sales service & customer management through IS/ IT.
From a holistic perspective, CRM is a full-fledged Business Strategy/
Discipline/ Practice:
1. Since the term CRM originated, there have been various perceptions about
CRM. Even today, there’s no universal view on what CRM is, though
there’s a lot of convergence towards Strategic CRM.
2. The business world does universally agree that CRM is a very important
Organisation/ Business Strategy for significant longer term bottom line
benefits through Customer Centricity!
3. Technology (ICT) is an “essential enabler” for implementation of CRM
Why CRM Is So Important Today
Various developments & forces over the past 2 decades, that have driven
the move to CRM as a Business Strategy, can be viewed in 4 categories:
Consumer Advances in ICT,

Profile and Data Storage &
Behaviour Processing, with
Changes Move to Lower Costs
CRM as a
Business
Changes Strategy Changes
that have mandated in
occurred in the Marketing
Marketplace Function
1. Changes in Consumer Profile & Behaviour:
a. Growing Consumer Diversity
• Population ageing in many countries
• Increase in ethnic diversity
• Higher Individualization
Demand is much more unpredictable: heterogeneous, individual fragmented. Mass
marketing is no longer a strong proposition.
b. Time Scarcity
• Consumers have very little “segmented / assigned” time; multitask.
• Time / place constraints viewed badly; product/ service on demand.
For businesses, this is also a window of opportunity.
c. Value Consciousness; Intolerance for low Service Levels
• Consumers are very demanding; zone of tolerance is very low, when other
choices are at hand. An upward spiral!
For businesses, customer facing efficiency /effectiveness are massive challenges!
d. Information Availability & Technological Aptitude
• The Internet & Online interactions which are essential, have made consumers
more informed/ knowledgeable/ capable in searching / comparing alternatives!
Business find “differentiation” and “USP creation” increasingly difficult/ impossible.
e. Decrease in Loyalty
• Most “Consumers” are Mercenaries – always on the look out for a better deal
on price/ value for price! And why not, when lot more choices are available,
easier to locate / evaluate?
For businesses, Customer Retention & Loyalty are burning issues!
The overall consequence of Consumer-related changes:

• Businesses cannot afford to place great time & effort demands on Consumers.
• Consumers want high value products/ services at the right place & right time.
• Greater personalization demands
Businesses which consider the above as opportunities and give top priority to
“meeting Consumer needs” benefit significantly, gain competitive edge & survive!
2. Marketplace Changes:
• Intense Competition
– Trade barriers are much less, globalization is the order of the day! Location advantage is less
significant, demands on logistics management & distribution efficiency are high. In any goods/
services domain, competition is significantly higher, acquiring/ retaining customers is tougher!
• More Fragmented Markets

– Markets are more developed and most often, supply exceeds demand. Consequently, increased
customer segments exist in the same industry/ domain/ vertical with differentiated needs and
marketing challenges are greater.
• The Product/ Service is a rather insignificant Differentiator

– Quality and attributes/ features of the Product/ Service are no longer a great source of
competitive advantage! There are many claimants to providing same or better quality.
– Brand Loyalty due to the above is practically eroded. Businesses need to differentiate on
Customer Experience and overall Service Level; build relationships rather than transactions!
– Customers are no longer willing to pay premium “for brand equity” – income saved is income
earned! Businesses need to justify premium with relevant and genuine Value – customization &
personalization – which a customer is willing to pay for!
3. Technological Advancements:
• Highly reliable ICT- Hardware, Software Applications/ Tools, LAN/ WAN.. & The Internet/ WWW
– Consumer wariness of “Self-Service” and “Online” interaction is largely a non-issue. The growth of E-
Commerce is the evidence!
– Businesses which pioneered the use to Technology for better customer intimacy reaped rich benefits and
defined the “defaults” and “entry barriers” for others.
• Decreasing Costs
– As businesses absorbed greater Technology / Automation and Customer Self Service levels in their
operations, costs in this regard have also been consistently decreasing.
– Businesses are now able to store far greater data volume at a fraction of the cost. This also enables deeper
customer/ consumer analysis & understanding; reorient offerings suitably, market better, etc.
4. Changes Necessitated in the Marketing Function

• Dilution of Conventional Media; Multiplication of Channels
– Given the changing Consumer profile & behaviour, its difficult to effectively market “traditionally”
– More and more “direct to Consumer” channels are required (e-mail, SMS, Phone, Web, etc.) with far greater
“segmented” messaging.
• Decreasing Efficiency & Effectiveness
– Getting the “right channel mix” and sending the “right messages to the right customer segments”.
– Marketing functions are under increased pressure, in terms of the spend and actual contribution to the
bottom line improvement!
The Evolution & Growth of CRM
The concept & practice of CRM has gone through many different perceptions/ definitions from
firms and consultants, since the term first emerged. These can grouped into 3 types of CRM:
1. Functional Level CRM (evolved in the early 90s)
2. Customer-Facing Front End Level CRM (evolved in the late 90s)
3. Strategic Level CRM (evolved in the early 2000s)
Functional Level CRM

• CRM is practiced on a limited functional basis, almost entirely driven by Technology.
Technology Sales
force automation, Marketing campaign management; Customer Service automation.
Customer-facing Front End Level CRM

• New business capability or arrangement focusing on a Total Customer Experience.
• The goal is to build a single view of the Customer across all contact channels and across
time; generate & distribute Customer Intelligence to all the Customer-facing functions to
systematically manage the entire Customer relationship.
• Marketing to Customers throughout their life cycle.
• Strongly driven by various process automation Technologies & Tools.
The Evolution & Growth of CRM
Strategic Level CRM (subsumes the previous two Levels):
1. CRM is an overall Organisation / Business strategy to gain long-term competitive advantage by
delivering optimum Value to the Customer; extracting optimum and lifetime value from the customer.
2. Customer Centricity, Building long-lasting & mutually beneficial Customer Relationships, Customer Life
Cycle (CLC) Management, etc. are at the forefront and:
– Influence various other strategies
– Align the organisation’s Structure, Business Processes, Technology, Infrastructure & Resources
3. CRM is not linked/ associated with any particular Technology! Rather, Technology in general is a
critical enabler, applied appropriately to achieve overall objectives.
4. Customer Selectivity & Partnership are very critical. The Organisation must have clarity on Preferred
Customers who can be most profitably served and shaping interactions with these Customers for
optimum value to the Customer and optimum value from the Customer.
5. There is a fundamental shift towards “Customisation” and “Personalization”. The Product/ Service
is not the end deliverable. Rather, it is one of the processes through which the end deliverable to the
Customer (need satisfaction & valued overall experience) happens!
6. CRM as a firm’s approach/ philosophy/ way of life, is initiated & driven by Top Management. It spans
multiple, if not all functions (Marketing/Sales, Customer Service, IT, HR, Supply Chain Management,
Product Development, etc.). No place whatsoever for the “Silo” mentality!
What is not Strategic CRM
It’s important to understand what’s not CRM at all, or
what’s CRM in a limited sense and not holistically as an
Organisational strategy:
• Sales tactics
• Relationship building through softer attributes of a
contact person
• Empowerment to pass goodwill services to customers
• Another buzzword / passing management fad.
• Call Centre Services – it’s just one component of CRM
strategy!
• CRM S/w solution – it’s an important CRM enabler!
CRM & DB Marketing- Strong Link
CRM as a practice evolved, closely linked with Database Marketing & use of
Technology to interact better with Customers & enhance retention/ loyalty, particularly
in B2C (large & diverse customer base consisting of individual Consumers).
Database Marketing:
1. Enables a Company to conduct meaningful marketing campaigns, for various Customer segments.
2. Advancements in Information & Communications Technology (ICT) have enabled better DB
Marketing, through processing of large data volumes, deep level analysis of existing & prospective
Customers and better/ more personalized interaction.
3. Effective DB Marketing, enhanced to a Relationship & Loyalty Building dimension (rather than
being restricted to “telling Customers about what’s available, promotions, best offers, etc”.), is today
considered more or less mandatory for successful CRM implementation.
A CRM definition conveying the strong, very close link between CRM & DBM:
“CRM is the practice of analyzing & utilizing marketing databases and leveraging information
& communication technologies to determine corporate practices and methods that will
maximize lifetime value of each individual customer”.
• Though the above definition is not accepted as “holistic”, since it focuses on a specific dimension
particularly relevant for B2C scenarios, it does reveal the core objective of Strategic CRM that’s
universally accepted: Maximizing CLTV (Customer’s Lifetime Value).
Strategic CRM Defined
Gartner:
CRM is a Business Strategy designed to optimize profitability, revenue and customer satisfaction.
PWC Consulting:
A Business Strategy to understand/ appreciate, manage and personalise the needs of an organisation’s
current and potential customers.
Parvathiyar and Sheth:
A Competitive Strategy and process of acquiring, reacting and partnering with selective customers, to
create superior value for the company and the customers.
Bob Thompson (CRM Guru.com):
A Business Strategy that applies to every organisation, to work with customers such that they receive
great service and are motivated to return again and again to do more business.
Metagroup:
CRM is a business strategy aimed at driving revenue and bottom line through proactive and systematic
CLCM (Customer Life Cycle Management) - aligning business processes, technology and CLC.
CRM (UK) Ltd.:
CRM is the establishment, development, maintenance and optimization of a long-term, mutually valuable
relationship between consumer and organisation by understanding the needs/ desires of the consumer,
placing these at the heart of the business and integrating them with the organisation’s strategy, people,
technology & business processes.
Key Concepts Relating to CRM
1. CUSTOMER’S (LIFETIME) VALUE (CLTV):
1. CRM is all about Customer Centricity! While this demands great attention to Customer needs
& Customer Service, it also implies Customer Selectivity and Partnering with the “right”
Customers!
2. Customer’s Value is the Economic Value a Customer brings into the Company, based
on various parameters: Margin/ Profit, Advocacy (Referrals) etc.
3. CRM necessitates estimating a Customer’s Lifetime & ensuring the same. Hence the
meaning of CLTV emerges: add “over the entire life of the Customer” to the above.
2. CUSTOMER LIFE CYCLE (CLC) MANAGEMENT

In a CRM oriented firm, CLC takes over from PLC. At a basic level, Customers are not viewed as
merely “transactional/ passive”. They are “active co-creators of value”. Not “product/ service
buyers” but “buyers of overall Value and Experience”. CLC Management means:
• Continuous & meaningful interaction with valued Customers, for deep understanding of what
they value (or don’t), what value the firm is (or isn’t) providing, through its products/ services and
Customer Experience in interactions.
• Continuous creation & addition of value for Customers through Customisation &
Personalisation, to maximize retention/ loyalty and therefore: Customer’s Lifetime & CLTV.
3. CUSTOMISATION:
As a practice, incorporate and implement changes/ modifications in Products/ Services offered
and interaction experiences, whenever possible, based on inputs/ feedback gathered from
Customers and/ or research findings/ ideas/ methods and processes that will provide better
overall value for Customers.
4. PERSONALISATION:
As a practice, ensure that interaction with the Customer is personalised to the extent possible,
making each Customer feel “unique” and “individual”. This includes, among many other issues:
• Understanding customer’s preferred mode(s) of communication
• Being “educated” about a Customer prior to interaction (history, background, etc.)
• Many things that may seem very trivial such as using the right title, courtesy, knowledge and use
of particular preferences that would impress the Customer (“Hey, these guys really remember
me well and care for me as an individual”).
Customisation & Personalisation are crucial in ENHANCING VALUE PROVIDED TO

CUSTOMER & CUSTOMER’S EXPERIENCE. This in turn generally builds
relationships, retention/ loyalty, customer lifespan & most importantly: CLTV!
5. CUSTOMER TOUCHPOINTS:
• Any relevant interaction between the firm and a Customer. In other words, any relevant issue or
matter for which the Customer “gets in touch” with the firm or vice versa.
• Customer Touchpoints can be regarded as synonymous with “Service Encounters” or “Moments
of Truth”, when the definition of “Service” is not restricted to “delivery of Services as Products”,
but refers to all kinds of interactions with the Customer.
Exercise: Think about & list various Customer Touchpoints, relevant for any business/ firm
-Enquiry about products/ services - Delivery related issues

-Advertising, Promotion, Campaigns - Payment related issues
-Presentation / demo/ more info - After Sales Services
-Request for Quotation/ Proposal - Grievances & Complaints
-Order/ Contract negotiation & Order - Ongoing Contract renewal
-Order/ Request fulfillment status - Feedback: Generic; Specific
Performance of the Organisation at Customer Touchpoints is what creates Good (or

Bad) Customer Experiences. Crucial in providing “that little bit extra” and rendering
the Organisation as “1st among equals”.
Strategic CRM- A Pictorial View
Align People, Infra & Evaluate & Select
Resources “Right” (Valuable)
Enterprise-wide Customers
Strategic CRM:
Align Business Understand what
Processes Customer Customers value &
Enterprise-wide Centricity Gaps in this regard
Adopt ICT (Info. & as the core Create/ enhance
Comm. Technology) value for Customers
appropriately Enterprise- through C & P
Apply relevant wide strategy Ensure good
Concepts, Tools & Customer Experience
Techniques in Touchpoints
Long-term Relationships, Enhanced Customer Retention/ Loyalty/

Advocacy/ Life/ CTLV. And most importantly…
GROWTH, PROFITABILITY, COMPETITIVE EDGE!
Strategic CRM Levels
CRM operates at 3 inter-linked levels in an Organisation:
• Operational (Front Office) CRM
Maximize Customer information gathering & understanding from all
Touchpoints (PoS, Call Centres, Web, etc.), with the (long-term) objective of
increasing customer loyalty and lifetime retention.
• Collaborative CRM
Integration of the above with the Organisation’s internal functions and/ or
Channel Partners (distributors/ dealers/ resellers/ retailers/ service partners, etc.)
as necessary, for excellent customer need fulfillment and customer experience.
• Analytical (Back Office) CRM
Transforming the mass of gathered data into “business knowledge /
intelligence”, for effective use and deployment (cross sell / upsell / new products
& services, tailor-made solutions, etc.) at the Collaborative & Operational levels.
Strategic CRM Levels
Direct Interaction Kiosk / ATM Web / Chat Voice
OPERATIONAL
Information Synchronisation & Integration from various
Customer Touchpoint mechanisms
Various Channel Partners (Distributors,

Direct Provider Resellers, Service Providers, etc.)
COLLABORATIVE
Synchronisation of various Fulfillment Channels
Marketing Sales Service/ Support
Integration of Data / Information Mass

ANALYTICAL
Transformation into BI through data mining & warehousing
Components of Strategic CRM
As we know, CRM evolved since mid 90s in 3 phases: Functional Level,
leading to Customer-facing Front End Level & then to Strategic CRM,
which emphasizes on CRM/ Customer Centricity as a central Company
Strategy, with Company-wide involvement & commitment.
Strategic CRM is made up of 4 essential components:
1. Customer-Management
Orientation
4. CRM Strategy
Implementation
2. Integration & Alignment 3. Information Capture &

of Organisational Processes Alignment of Technology
1. Customer-Management
Orientation (C-MO)
1. The set of Values, Beliefs and Strategic Actions that enable
implementation of sound Customer Relationship Management principles.
2. C-MO originates from the Top Management team- their strong
conviction that the Customer is the centre / focus of what the Company
does. It must then percolate down to the entire organisation, through
various initiatives from the Top Mgt. team: Effective communication,
Attitudinal & behavioural training, Appropriate structural design & reward
system.
3. C-MO mandates certain Organisational traits:
– Recognize that Customers are heterogeneous in Needs and Value to the
firm. Different Customers treated differently; CLC & CLTV being driving forces.
– No single function to be equated with CRM; all corporate functions must be
integrated and aligned with CRM as a strategy.
2. Integration & Alignment of
Organisational Processes
1. Creation/ Change/ Synchronization of various Processes & Systems (including
Reward Systems) that enable sound Customer Management Principles.
2. The notion that CRM involves only Sales, Marketing and IT functions must
disappear! Strategic CRM scopes other functions- Product Development, Supply
Chain Mgt., HR to name a few- in number of ways. Organisations with strong
cross-functional processes are more likely to succeed with Strategic CRM.
3. Processes must incorporate needs of the Customers and goals of the Company
into the product & service delivery. Processes must be viewed & designed on the
basis of purpose and outcomes, cutting across internal barriers to build customer
relationships effectively and Value created for target Customers.
4. Where appropriate, Processes must include performance-based incentives &
rewards, to reinforce “Internal Relationships”. Processes must drive Organisation
& Employee goals simultaneously.
5. Processes must incorporate feedback mechanisms from Customers &
Employees, to facilitate continuous refinement and improvement from learning.
3. Information Capture & Alignment
of Technology
1. There’s no denying that ICT is absolutely essential for CRM success, through
process efficiency improvements, process transformations and new processes
altogether (Eg.: Customer Self Service, Online Transactions, etc.).
2. Technology however is ineffective without accurate and timely Data/ Information
capture, without which no leveraging for “actionable information & intelligence” to
act on, for competitive advantage.
3. Therefore, its necessary for the Organisation to develop comprehensive
understanding about Data & Information that can make Customer Management
processes highly efficient & effective in sync with relevant Technology, keeping
in mind that there can be entirely new processes or totally transformed ones.
4. The bottom line is for the Organisation to recognize that Technology is built
around Strategy, Processes and People; not vice versa! The immediate
contradiction that comes up regarding new Processes driven by Technology is
actually irrelevant, since these are driven by Strategy.
4. CRM Strategy Implementation
Macro Level Processes & Activities considered as necessary for the Strategic CRM implementation are
captured in the form of a CRM Implementation Matrix, structured in two dimensions:
– Customer Dimension: Different and changing phases of the firm’s relationship with a Customer
(Acquisition, Growth, Retention and Exit).
– Management Dimension: Operational & Collaborative; Analytical.
Some examples of macro-level processes/ activities:

Customer Data collection, Building Satisfaction & Loyalty Metrics, Understanding Customer Needs, Relationship Economics,
Segmentation, Value Proposition measurement, Campaign Management, Channel Management, Referral Management,
Loyalty Management, Customer’s Value monitoring & management, Acquisition/Retention based on value alignment,
Feedback & improvements based on the same.
CRM Implementation Matrix: Specific Activities & Processes to be put in each Cell
Customer Dimension
Acquisition Growth & Retention Decline & Exit
Operational / ----- ----- ---------

Collaborative ------ ------ ----------
Management Dimension
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
Analytical
xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx
The benefits from CRM
Through the importance / focus on Customer Centricity and Customer’s Value, CRM as an
overall strategy provides the Organisation with guidelines and ability to answer many crucial
questions:
a) What are the right ways to improve Customer Retention and Loyalty?
b) How to select/ target right Customers in this regard, by linking loyalty with profitability?
c) How to determine future a Customer’s future profitability and Customer’s Lifetime Value
(CLTV)?
d) How to optimize the Organisation, its infrastructure, technology, processes and resources,
to maximize Customer’s Value / CLTV and consequently improve/ maximize RoI?
This enables a number of distinct macro level or overall effectiveness benefits for the
Organisation:
1. Decrease in Costs
2. Increased Revenues
3. Improvements in Profits and RoI.
4. Greater Acquisition and Retention of Profitable Customers.
5. Appropriate reactivation of dormant Customers
The benefits from CRM
Functional or Efficiency Benefits from CRM for an Organisation:
1. Integration & Consolidation of Customer information, enabling consistent Customer treatment and interaction
across all contact and service channels.
2. Consolidated information across all channels, throughout the Organisation, to enable timely and relevant
Customer communication and matching Customer needs with most appropriate products/ services.
3. Better management of Customer Relationships, through right focus, planning & transparency, ensuring
appropriate action by the right person(s) with right authority & management control(s), at the right time.
4. Enable better and appropriate Customization and Personalization of Products and the services provided to
each Customer, based on need satisfaction
5. Better generation of new sales opportunities, due to greater level of interaction with Customers, understanding
profiles and needs.
6. Enable better campaign generation & management, due to greater flexibility emerging from deeper customer
information / understanding.
7. Faster and more accurate follow-up on sales leads/ referrals and customer enquiries, due to the “customer
centricity” that is generally prevalent.
8. Better Customer facing and related business processes in general – more attention to detail and “doing it right
1st time”, greater control structures, etc.
9. Enable a more “Customer informed” management team, particularly with regard to Sales/ Marketing and other
Customer facing activities.
10. Enable better response and reaction to changing market environment.

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Module 1:

CRM- Overview & Essential

B: Business C-IF: Consumer- Individual/ Family

In general, any Firm operates in B2B, B2C or a

Consumer Advances in ICT,

The overall consequence of Consumer-related changes:

• More Fragmented Markets

• The Product/ Service is a rather insignificant Differentiator

4. Changes Necessitated in the Marketing Function

Functional Level CRM

Customer-facing Front End Level CRM

2. CUSTOMER LIFE CYCLE (CLC) MANAGEMENT

Customisation & Personalisation are crucial in ENHANCING VALUE PROVIDED TO

-Enquiry about products/ services - Delivery related issues

Performance of the Organisation at Customer Touchpoints is what creates Good (or

Long-term Relationships, Enhanced Customer Retention/ Loyalty/

Various Channel Partners (Distributors,

Marketing Sales Service/ Support

Integration of Data / Information Mass

Transformation into BI through data mining & warehousing

2. Integration & Alignment 3. Information Capture &

Some examples of macro-level processes/ activities:

Operational / ----- ----- ---------

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